wait, you think we owe you what, and more red flags

As anticipated, the email that I dreaded stated something to the effect of:

‘We just realized that we only charged you for the baseboard in the front hall for $750.  The crown molding cost is $1,900.’  Red flag.  Why, oh why, had we allowed the previous red flags to slap us in the face and not flee from this group?!  Groan.  

I mean I KNOW why.  We just wanted the kitchen done.  And, hey- they had our money.  They had the plans, the crew, the materials, etc.  They were going to finish, right?

The woodwork had been done months ago.  I had already been billed, and I had already submitted my payment.  If they wanted to change the amount that I owed them, they were out of luck.  There were a few other pricing increases.  

We reached out to a neighbor, who is a lawyer.  He is a great guy.  He was Tank’s first lawn-mowing customer, and he was Tank’s confirmation sponsor.  He agreed to sit down with Coach and I that weekend.

The most earth shattering revelation was that Lawyer-neighbor told us that if our contractor was subcontracting out to get the work done on our job and not paying his subcontractors, then these subcontractors could take out a lien against our house.  Alarming!

If you are a regular reader here, um - thank you,
then this pic is old news.  It is just the most in-your-face
 reminder that the kitchen has not been completed.  

I drafted an email to the contractor and stated that we wouldn’t make another payment until he provided us with waivers of lien.  Lawyer-neighbor instructed me to include a date that we expected the work to be done.  If they didn’t complete the job by then, we would hire someone else and deduct the costs from what we owed them.  

Lawyer-neighbor checked over my email and then I sent it.  Just before I sent the email, the contractor sent his own email.  This email included a few of the adjustments that were glossed over in his alarming $25K email.  Now his total of what we owed was closer to what we thought we owed.  It was $13,000.  

This is probably old news too,
but this is the door to our deck. 
A bit of a struggle to walk
out there -a concern with
Mini's upcoming graduation party.  

I sent my email May 15th demanding waivers of lien and with the expectation that the work be done by May 31st.  The actual work (not including the punch list of little issues and incomplete aspects of the job):  

1.  install the hood (I have the appliance part sitting in boxes) and custom hood surround, 

2.  Put the glass doors in the two cabinets on either side of the stovetop, 

3.  finish building the deck, 

4.  and hang the barn doors that are supposed to slide in front of the recessed calendar.  

Then we waited, and we received this little gem of an email.  I do wonder if maybe the guy is on heroine.  He is MAYBE 112 pounds sopping wet and he never stops moving, plus he doesn't make sense lots of times.  Exhibit A . . .

Ernie and Coach,

As I expressed in my last e-mail, before we can move forward, it's best to resolve remaining balance extras that we need to settle as I expressed in the past several weeks.

As we are preparing more details to reply to your last e-mail, which you will have by the end of the day.

Sincerely,

-- 

Paulie

President

May 31st was quickly approaching and we had heard nothing.  I sent a follow up email clarifying what specific things needed to be complete by May 31st.  If they didn't complete the work, then we expected them to either drop off the materials that we had paid for (have an email stating this)- or we would come and pick them up.  Use your imagination to see where this is headed . . . that is a challenge, but trust me - not in your wildest dreams . . .